The Culture of Atheism

No, I don’t need a “theology of atheism,” and no, I don’t want to sing along in an “assembly” so like an evangelical church service. Professor Worthen might have more usefully devoted some of her field research to look into the rich social life of New York’s freethought community.

My own organization, the 27-year-old Secular Humanist Society of New York, brings together humanists and rationalists of all stripes with interesting communal events — book clubs, brunches, lectures, study groups, movies — every week of the month, celebrating the good life together. We don’t need community; we already have it.

The only thing that will change the minds of the people who believe, against all evidence, that secularism will cause America to “slide into moral anarchy” is to actually meet atheists and humanists, to recognize the decent, moral, freethinking friends and family all around them.

That is why we support Openly Secular Day and urge every secularist to stand up and announce: “I’m good without a god.”

JOHN RAFFERTYPresident, Secular Humanist Society of New YorkNew York

To the Editor:

I was pleased to read Molly Werthen’s essay. Those of us who have rejected the dogmas and social structures of traditional religions often feel lonely. We envy those who share the rituals and social structures of organized religion, yet feel more lonely when we try to fit in.

Our need remains, however, for opportunities to congregate, share ideas, even, perhaps, adopt common themes (not to be confused with dogma, which threatens individuality). It’s good to know there’s a movement toward fulfilling that need.

I hope, however, that we will shun the “atheist” label, and that we’ll remember that we needn’t denigrate the beliefs and practices of organized religions in order to enjoy the cooperation, companionship and comfort of our own religious freedom.

PHYLLIS JAMISONPortland, Ore.

To the Editor:

Atheists have common sense on their side. It is hard for anyone to square with reality the version of events that form the bedrock of Christian belief. What is it then that tethers me to the church and its miraculous story?

Nonbelievers would say I use the church as a crutch, but that’s not how it feels. The feeling is one of being held and accompanied on this walk of life — not carried, not buoyed up, not even embraced — just held. The church holds me.

Fickle by nature, we shed stories as often as we acquire them, and yet this story has stayed with us for 2,000 years. It has inspired the most magnificent of human endeavors in music, art and architecture. Where are the works of comparable power and beauty inspired by the creed of atheism?

I suggest there are few because atheism’s central tenet — there is no God — is a denial, and something of beauty is, above all else, an affirmation.

MARGARET McGIRRGreenwich, Conn.

To the Editor:

I have never understood this insistence from observers of atheism (and some atheists) that a formal secular belief system and “humanist fellowships” are needed to fill the alleged void left by the rejection of theism. Surely human reason, reliance on the scientific method and a sense of morality based on a secular version of the Golden Rule are all that are required to enable the rational actor and, in turn, a civil society.

BOB FLIEGELSt. Augustine, Fla.

To the Editor:

Molly Worthen cites Sam Harris’s suggestion that there is or can be a productive interaction between the blind faith of theology and the systematic, objective inquiry of science. That is absurd. They are not separate disciplines; they are completely different modes of thought. It is a serious disservice to both modes of analysis to seek any possible connection between the two. Stating that moral philosophy is really an “undeveloped branch of science” is ridiculous in the extreme.

ROBERT E. SILVERMAN Naples, Fla.

To the Editor:

As a professional leader in the Society for Ethical Culture for more than 40 years, I can attest that our movement has long expressed the ideas that Molly Worthen is advocating.

Though Ethical Culture lacks a creed or doctrine in the traditional sense, it is built around a cluster of principles and ideas that not only provide direction and meaning in life, but also avoid embracing the total inclusion and false tolerance that concern her as secular lifestyles grow in their attraction.

At the heart of Ethical Culture’s worldview is that each human being possesses intrinsic dignity. This appreciation calls for a life of active engagement to ensure that such dignity be realized in both the private and public realms. It places the individual within a web of social obligations such that each person strives to bring out the best in others while working for a world in which oppression will be overcome.

Unlike the theologies of the traditional religions, Ethical Culture widens its sources of inspiration to include the rich traditions of philosophy, literature, art and other aspects of culture that have expressed the humanity made up of the unique beings that we are.

JOSEPH CHUMANHackensack, N.J.

To the Editor:

The whole point of atheism is that we don’t need theology because there’s no such thing as God. If you are lonely and need to mingle with others, then creating social events are fine. Maintaining cultural religious customs like eating potato latkes is fine, too.

As for morality, what more does one need other than to do unto others as you would have others do unto you?